“Should we only get involved in beautiful, sexy emergencies or also in hopeless places? Our work is to keep trying amid pessimism” (p. 241). These are the words of a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) doctor alluding to what Peter …

One almost feels sorry for the human these days. After a heady flight toward near divinity, the figure has tumbled, Icarus-like, down from the intellectual firmament to a posthuman sea of forms, forces and flows large and small. Even anthropology (the very citadel of anthropos!) is now awash with multispecies mashups, circulating microbes and wandering genes, not to mention zombie …

I sat waiting for my turn to see the doctor. I watched as women went in and out. I listened as names were called. Eventually, there were only two of us left in the waiting room: another young woman and I. Quite unexpectedly, she started speaking to me – no one had said anything during the entire hour or more …

Historically, attempts to alter the conditions and cultures of maternity and motherhood have been part of the civilizing projects of colonialism and the modernizing agendas of international development. The goals have varied over time and space — from the prevention of maternal and infant deaths amidst fears of a depleted labour pool, to the prevention of “excessive fertility” amidst fears …